Coffee
by GenesisArclite
Summary: Aoede gets off the train in a little town to discover it is where Lightning lives, and runs into her in a coffeehouse, accidentally opening an old wound as her questions come pouring out like the rain outside. Post-LR / Reminescence. [one-word prompt series]


**_Coffee_**

Aoede walked briskly across the train station, tugging the collar of her jacket up to her chin and holding it with one hand while her other hand gripped her luggage satchel to keep it pinned to her side. The biting wind of the region's autumn slashed through the outermost layer of her clothes and stopped only when it hit the layer of nearly-too-warm clothing she wore beneath it. It made her thankful that she'd done it to begin with, wearing almost too many clothes, splashing through a puddle and squeezing through a crowd waiting for the next train. She loved the fact that the rail line linked for many cities and towns, but sometimes the sheer number of people made her nervous.

She figured it a remnant of a life on Gran Pulse, where there were far fewer people – numbering in the millions instead of the billions – and they were either squeezed into big population centers, like Academia, or spread out in little pockets of civilization separated by dangerous wilderness.

A few steps later, she stood at the side of a lean-to, catching her breath, where the wind couldn't cut into her for the moment. She readjusted her jacket and the sling of her pack and looked around. Menacing gray skies and speedy clouds greeted her from horizon to horizon; a gray-white blob of mist indicating torrential rains perched in a valley, and as she watched it, a few of the trees vanished inside of it as it advanced.

Aoede gulped quietly. She was in no way prepared for this.

Turning abruptly and gathering her strength, she charged out of the lean-to and back into the wind, following a wide path away from the station toward the town's main road. She hadn't been to this town yet, but part of her extended family had moved here, begged her to come for some autumnal feast they were putting on, and so she'd gathered her passport and her courage and gotten on the first train out of the city.

It was when her teeth chattered that she realized the wind was chilling her down pretty fast, so she walked quicker into the town, looking all around for a café or somewhere she could warm up. She had enough in her wallet to get by and enough in her account to be comfortable, after all; still gripping her collar and bag, she crossed the street and began wandering down the central street, lined with shops, cafés, and small restaurants. It seemed to be a relatively peaceful town overall, but there were enough choices to make her hesitate.

If she caught a cab and rode fifteen minutes, she'd be at her family's home and settling in to get warm.

On the other hand, a twenty-minute detour could be worth it.

She selected a café with peaceful lighting and pushed open the door, immediately hit in the face with the scent of coffee, spiced chocolate, and grilled sandwiches. A few other patrons glanced up as she came in and folded down her collar. One of them gave her a hard look and glanced at her bag; she hugged it a little closer and looked around for a place to sit.

There weren't many people here at all – maybe a dozen, if she was counting right. There were some empty tables, too – she really only needed to pick where she wanted to sit and do it.

Sighing, she walked over to a corner table in full view of the counter, dropped her bag on the floor, shoved it into the corner with her foot, and walked up to the counter. A barista glanced at her and flashed a quick smile; a man in the back also looked up from where he worked on the coffee – a rather attractive man, she noted – and gave her a nod and a "be right with you" as she waited.

She heard the door open and close behind her, but didn't bother to look, staring intently at the selection of coffees this place could create. There was plain coffee, spiced coffee, creamed coffee, triple-shot coffee, lattes… her gloved fingers laced together, knuckles popping slightly, as her eyes roved over the menu. Even better, there was a wide range of fresh-grilled sandwiches they could make.

The barista finished her creation and came over. Aoede blanked out for a moment of indecision before rattling off her order – too much espresso, whipped cream, and spice, she knew, but didn't much care, not when her stomach demanded that she give it sustenance. She also selected a sandwich that looked particularly delicious and waited for the other woman to ring up the till.

Offhand, Aoede glanced to her left, seeing two other patrons waiting in line. There was a middle-aged man with a knit hat, and just on the other side of him was a woman in a fur-lined coat–

Aoede said, "…Lightning?"

At the sound of her name as it was in the old world, the woman's blue eyes widened slightly and met hers. Her lips parted slightly before she closed them again, frowned, and shook her head slightly. Aoede hoped she understood the gesture's meaning as she nodded, moving to wait for her order. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't seen Lightning – Claire, as she chose to be called now – in nearly a year, not since she had seen her get off the train. What were the odds of the two women ever running into each other–

She cracked a smile. _This_ had been the same town, the same station, she had last seen her get off at, after all. It was a long way from the political stirrings and bursts of violence that made up the war she had once so desperately wanted to record with her own hand. Now, it seemed, both of them wanted to get away and enjoy instead the otherwise peaceful lives they had been given.

When the pink-haired woman approached her, Aoede took a risk and said, "Who'd have thought I'd see you?"

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "I didn't recognize you at first."

"You wouldn't, I guess," she said, giving a sheepish grin. "We spoke for all of, what, five minutes?"

Lightning hummed softly. "I suppose we did… Aida, was it?"

She smiled wider. "Aoede," she said.

"Ah, my mistake." Lightning seemed to relax now, the lines of her face softening. "What brings you to this town in the middle of nowhere?"

"Family," she said, and gave a playful groan. "They wanted me here for some feast of theirs."

"Same," the other woman said. "Hope – you remember Hope, right – and Snow schemed and got all of us back together. Even Noel and Yeul will be here. Everyone had to fly or drive in. But I already live here." She shrugged one shoulder. "So, it's not that big of a deal. I love them all, and I don't mind seeing them again."

Aoede frowned. "You live alone?"

There was a slight pause. "Yes. Serah and Snow moved away when they got married."

"Still haven't found anyone, huh?"

Lightning smiled, and Aoede wasn't sure what to make of the emotion in it. To call it "sadness" wouldn't be quite accurate, but she wasn't sure what else it could be.

Aoede took her coffee and was informed the sandwich would be brought to her table. She started to move away, but then she hesitated and looked carefully at the woman beside her. Last time she'd tried discussing anything with her, the woman had basically told her to find her own answers, but she wondered how she would react now. Would she want to speak of the old world, or even the current one, at all?

"Um, Lightning, uh… Claire?"

"Call me Lightning. That's what my friends and family calls me."

"Alright… Lightning it is." Aoede tipped her head. "You wanna sit with me? Maybe we can talk a little more."

"About the old world, right?"

"Well…" Aoede suddenly felt sheepish. This woman had been at the forefront of _every_ conflict that had pushed the new world into being, from the fall of Cocoon to the war in Valhalla to the struggle at the end of the world to bring everyone home. She hadn't stopped the think if she was at all traumatized by it all. Maybe bringing it all up only reopened old wounds, or brought back sour memories. Maybe she had nightmares.

"Don't start that." Lightning broke into her thoughts with a strong but quite tone. "If you still have questions, maybe I can clear things up. Where'd you park?"

Relief washed over her from head to toe; she nodded at the table she'd left her bag at. Once Lightning had her cup of coffee as well, the two walked back to the table and sat on opposite sides. For a few minutes, nothing was said as they savored the coffee in comfortable silence. Outside, the hiss of rain came to her; she looked out the window to see a sheet of rain race down the street, soaking the pavement.

"You've got something on your mind." Lightning looked at her, tilting her head slightly. "Spit it out."

Aoede appreciated the other's brusqueness. Somehow, it seemed to yank her back to reality over and over, even as she sat vaguely in awe of her, knowing what all she'd done. All the same, Lightning was an ordinary woman with her own wants, desires, and dreams. She'd been a soldier, a knight, and a warrior, but now, in this world, she was just Claire Farron, and only her hair made her stand out.

She probably enjoyed the anonymity.

Aoede plucked at the side of her cup with one fingernail. "There's actually just… one thing, really. And I won't ask too many questions. I'm sure you're eager to get moving."

"Then I wouldn't be sitting and sipping coffee," Lightning pointed out. "What's your question?"

"It's about a person. Remember Caius Ballad?"

Lightning froze for a moment. Was it because of bitter memories? Had Aoede unintentionally opened a wound that had very nearly healed? "Didn't the others tell you about him? You must've asked, or they must've–" She paused and took a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes. "Alright. What about him?"

She hesitated before saying, "No one was ever able to tell me straight why he's not in this world. Something about you not being able to save him, but not much beyond that. You see, a while back, I got hit with some artillery, and then when I opened my eyes, he was standing in front of me, and I wasn't here anymore."

Lightning's gaze snapped to hers. "You saw him?"

"Well… yes, I did. I saw him, and those girls. The, uh… the Yeuls, or at least they look like her. He seemed so stoic and withdrawn, and I couldn't get much out of him. He barely spoke, but he was definitely real. It just seemed like, I don't know, there's something–" She hesitated as Lightning's expression seemed to crumble slightly. "Did– did I say something wrong?" Pause. "I'm sorry, maybe–"

"_No_," she said, and with such force that Aoede flinched back from it. "It's fine, no problem. Go on."

"But… you _fought_ him, in Valhalla, right? And he did such horrible things…"

"You asked me why he's not here, right?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I did."

"He's not here because–" Lightning snagged her lip with her teeth for a second, eyelids fluttering before they closed over her vivid sky-blue eyes. Aoede wondered how many horrors and wonders those eyes had seen. "He's not here because I didn't try. Because his fate was sealed, and it's to suffer. The Yeuls are keeping him chained to the chaos. He's not here, he's not free, because I didn't try hard enough to break those chains. I _couldn't_."

Aoede felt the strong and sudden desire to comfort the former soldier as a shudder passed through her body. "How can you blame yourself?" she said, going with her first instinct. "Look at what he did. He got your sister killed, and then he made the world suffer for centuries, scheming to get what he wanted. Then, he destroyed the old world–"

"But he gave us a _new_ one," Lightning cut in firmly.

Aoede stuttered to a stop, never having looked at it from that angle before. As far as she could tell, none of the others had, either. They'd all demonstrated the same sort of bitterness, except for Sazh and, to an extent, Fang and Vanille. She opened her mouth, starting to bring that up…

And what came out instead was, "Do _they_ know?"

Lighting waited until the waitress had set Aoede's sandwich down before continuing. "About why he's there?" She stared at her cup, then took a lengthy sip. Only after she swallowed did she continue. "No, they don't, at least not yet. From their perspective, Caius is a destroyer of worlds, and his method of atonement isn't enough to make up for what he did. No matter if he stays there all eternity – which he will – it will never be enough. Some might say he deserves a lot worse."

Aoede thought of her encounter with the man. "Maybe."

Lightning lifted her head and seemed to grow suddenly stronger, but there was vulnerability and pain in her eyes. Were those the centuries she fought with Caius? The guilt she still bore? The pain she remembered from their too-long journey to the new world? No… it was all of that, she realized, but there was something else there, something secret, that Aoede just wasn't privy to know.

"As long as he's in my memories, he's never really gone." Lightning brought a hand to her breast and closed it into a fist, bowing her head slightly. "He's safe in my heart. Maybe I never really knew him, but if he'd come here, maybe I would have better, and maybe things would have been completely different between us." There was a new feeling in her eyes, something that made Aoede intensely curious. "As the months pass, I wonder sometimes."

Aoede blurted out her next question before her mind could stop her. "How do you feel about him?"

The feeling in her eyes turned into something powerful.

Aoede swallowed hard and looked at her sandwich, choosing to focus on it instead of the woman's questioning eyes and centuries of emotion. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm s– sorry," she said, feeling her cheeks heat up and chastising herself for even asking. _That_ was private, _that_ was secret, and how _dare_ she even ask, especially when she had spent so long with the belief that Caius deserved to suffer for what he had done. This woman, this ancient in the body of a twenty-something, had given her a different perspective, but to do so, she had needed to dig something out of her that had been tightly sealed in order to make herself content.

By asking these questions, all she did was make the pain fresh and real all over again. It was insensitive, to say the very least, and cruel to go on doing it.

"So, uh, Hope and the others, how are…" Aoede tried desperately to change the subject, but her attempts sounded hollow to her ears. Lightning's sad smile only made her feel worse, but it stopped her cold, and instead she stared at her plate, half the sandwich gone, churning in an upset stomach.

"I can't talk about him with anyone else," she murmured. "You did nothing wrong."

"But–" Aoede didn't know what she was saying.

"How I feel about him is something I'm still trying to work out," she said gently. "I can't even really answer your question, Aoede, so don't worry. All I ask…" Lightning tapped her fingernails on the table. "Just… don't tell any of this to the others, if you see them, okay? They wouldn't understand, not yet. Maybe one day. Until then, all I can do is keep him in my heart and tell stories of the 'great warrior', so he's never forgotten."

Aoede looked at her. "You don't think he should be forgotten?"

Lightning shook her head lightly. "Not ever."

"I think he might want to be."

"That's exactly why I can't let him be."

Aoede didn't understand, but something told her that if she puzzled over it for a while, the revelation would come to her. She finished her meal in silence, drained her cup of every last bit of coffee, and gathered it up into a neat pile to remove from the table. Lightning wasn't finished and remained seated as Aoede returned her cup and plate to the counter, mulling over her thoughts, knowing they would keep her up tonight.

"Thanks for your time." She slung her bag over her shoulder and flipped her collar up, preparing to run into the rain. "I'm hoping… well, thanks." At a loss, she stopped suddenly.

Lightning glanced at her. "Don't worry, my life is happy. I'm content. Besides, here, I'm still young. Things can only get better, right? There's no telling what I might find yet, or who." Her eyes seemed to sparkle, the emotion still roiling in them, but her expression was warm. "Now, go spend time with your family, okay? Enjoy life."

Aoede nodded once. "I will. You do the same, Lightning. And… thank you."

The rose-haired woman raised an eyebrow. "Maybe we'll run into each other again, huh? Tell you what. If we ever do, every time we meet, I'll give you a little piece of history. The stuff of bedtime stories, that sort of thing." A smirk formed on her lips. "Sound good?"

Tidbits were better than what she'd gotten from Lightning to begin with. Had the woman been through something to change her mind about telling stories of the old world?

"Sounds perfect," Aoede said.

Turning her back on the former soldier, she ducked into the rain and waved for a cab. During the ride to her family's home, her thoughts were consumed, thinking of Lightning, the old world, all of the people she had found in her time here, and of the immortal in the netherworld, performing his duty as the eternal sentinel of chaos.

* * *

><p><em>One of 26 or so prompts given to me by my followers on deviantArt. It veered into Cairai territory, but consider it a slight AU. Thanks for reading!<em>


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